One of the vital necessary settings in FPV drone tuning is charges—they decide how your drone responds to stay inputs. In case your charges are too excessive, your quad will really feel twitchy and exhausting to regulate. In the event that they’re too low, it might really feel sluggish and unresponsive. On this tutorial, I’ll break down what Betaflight charges are, how they work, why Precise Charges are the most suitable choice, and tips on how to decide the good charges to your flying fashion.
Charges Want Tuning
Identical to PID and filters, charges should be fantastic tuned to optimize your drone’s efficiency. You’ll be amazed by the numerous enhancements you’ll be able to obtain in your flying expertise by tuning charges to match your distinctive flying fashion and necessities.
Betaflight presents a complete of 5 charge programs:
- Precise Charges
- Betaflight Charges
- Raceflight Charges
- KISS Charges
- Fast Charges
Nevertheless, probably the most extensively used are Precise and Betaflight Charges.
On this tutorial, we’ll delve into the important thing options of Precise Charges and Betaflight Charges, how they work, and the way I discover my most well-liked charges. If you’re undecided which charge system to make use of, my suggestion for each novices and skilled pilots could be to begin with the default – Precise Charges. It’s efficient and intuitive to make use of.
Understanding Precise Charges
“Precise Charges” are the default charges in Betaflight, offering an easy strategy to setting most rotational velocity (e.g., getting into 1000 corresponds to 1000deg/sec) and middle sensitivity values. No extra guessing, as this technique is way extra intuitive and fewer complicated for pilots in comparison with the older Betaflight charges.
If you’re new to the interest, I’d advocate utilizing Precise charges. In the event you come from one other sort of charges, there are a lot of on-line instrument that assist you to convert charge values between these totally different programs.
There are 3 values in Precise Charges: Middle Sensitivity, Max Price, Expo.
Middle Sensitivity
Middle Sensitivity pertains to the responsiveness across the middle stick place. A decrease worth presents finer, smoother management, whereas a better worth ends in a extra reactive drone to stay motion.
Max Price
Max Price defines the drone’s spin pace at full stick deflection. The worth entered represents the precise most rotational velocity. For instance, getting into 700 means your drone will try to rotate at 700 levels/sec at full stick.
Nevertheless, remember that the utmost angular velocity could be restricted by your motors. When motors attain their bodily limitations and can’t spin any quicker, the utmost angular velocity is capped, whatever the greater worth set in Betaflight.
Expo
Expo flattens the curve between middle stick and full stick. To realize a extra linear charge, preserve Expo low. For a broader middle stick area with finer management, enhance Expo. Needless to say growing Expo additionally reduces middle sensitivity. Whereas Expo could be as excessive as 1.0, extreme Expo may trigger decreased middle stick sensitivity and make the drone’s response extra unpredictable in the direction of full stick (extra jumpy).
Tuning Precise Charges
Begin by setting the Middle Sensitivity. Cruise round and navigate by way of gaps to check the specified management precision across the middle stick. For small changes and exact aiming by way of gates and gaps, the drone should be exactly managed. If the Middle Sensitivity is just too excessive, the drone will overreact and turn out to be jittery. Overview your flight footage will assist you to choose extra objectively.
Subsequent, set up your Max Price by performing flips and rolls – be sure to are pleased with how snappy your drone is. This step needs to be comparatively easy.
Lastly, apply freestyle strikes involving varied stick positions between middle and full stick. To flatten the speed curve, add some Expo, however bear in mind that this could cut back predictability in the direction of full stick. In the event you enhance Expo an excessive amount of, you might want to lift Middle Sensitivity barely to compensate. Expo is primarily a matter of private choice.
Repeat this course of for roll, pitch and yaw, or you might copy the identical values for all 3 axes.
My Charges
Right here’s a normal guideline for various flying kinds and purposes based mostly on my private expertise:
- Cinematic / Racing: 500-800 Max Price
- Freestyle: 600-1000 Max Price
- Line of Sight: 1000+ Max Price
Then set middle sensitivity in response to your flying fashion. Reducing middle sensitivity allows you to make tiny corrections with out jerky motion—that is particularly helpful for cinematic flying and {smooth} freestyle traces.
- Cinematic: 50-150 Middle Sensitivity
- Freestyle: 100-200 Middle Sensitivity
- Racing / Line of Sight: 150-300 Middle Sensitivity
Expo controls how {smooth} or aggressive your stick response is in the midst of stick journey. In case your quad feels too linear and robotic, including a little bit of expo could make actions really feel extra pure. In the event you fly freestyle, a small expo curve makes methods like juicy flicks and snap rolls really feel smoother. However an excessive amount of expo could make actions far much less predictable.
- Cinematic: Excessive expo (0.4 – 0.7) for ultra-smooth photographs.
- Freestyle: Medium expo (0.3 – 0.6) for steadiness between smoothness and snap.
- Racing: Low expo (0 – 0.3) for fast, linear and predictable response.
My Freestyle Charges
Pitch/Roll
- Middle Sensitivity: 190
- Max Price: 1000
- Expo: 0.70
Yaw
- Middle Sensitivity: 200
- Max Price: 650
- Expo: 0.55
Word that my charges differ relying on how I maintain the sticks. When “pinching”, my max charges are comparable, however middle sensitivity tends to be greater as a result of I can transfer the sticks extra precisely when I’m pinching in comparison with thumbing. Listed here are my thumbing charges for comparability:
Pitch/Roll (Thumbing)
- Middle Sensitivity: 140
- Max Price: 1000
- Expo: 0.50
Yaw (Thumbing)
- Middle Sensitivity: 180
- Max Price: 650
- Expo: 0.40
My Tiny Whoop Charges
Pitch/Roll
- Middle Sensitivity: 230
- Max Price: 1000
- Expo: 0.62
Yaw
- Middle Sensitivity: 250
- Max Price: 1300
- Expo: 0.68
Discover my yaw charge is a bit greater as a result of I exploit lots of yaw when flying tiny whoops indoor as a result of quantity of speedy sharp turns.
Delving into Betaflight Charges
Betaflight Charges is a legacy system, and whereas I don’t advocate it I believed it might be good to have a bit introduction for newcomers. Why I don’t advocate it? Nicely, it’s tougher to make use of than Precise Charges as a result of the three phrases are interdependent, making it much less intuitive to make use of.
RC Price
RC Price impacts the speed curve’s slope linearly all through your entire stick vary and determines how rapidly the quadcopter rotates at full deflection. In the event you’re conversant in computer systems, you’ll be able to consider it as mouse sensitivity.
The next charge ends in a extra responsive however twitchier quad. Small stick actions will produce important quad actions. Rising the RC Price additionally boosts the quad’s spin pace, enabling quicker flips and rolls.
Nevertheless, remember that the utmost angular velocity could be restricted by your motors. When motors attain their bodily limitations and can’t spin any quicker, the utmost angular velocity is capped, whatever the greater worth set in Betaflight.
RC Expo
RC Expo, often known as Exponential or just Expo, reduces sensitivity close to the stick’s middle the place fantastic controls are wanted (for Roll, Pitch, and Yaw) however doesn’t change the utmost angular velocity at full stick.
Expo is a proportion worth, starting from 0% (0) to 100% (1). At 0%, the rise in rotational pace between minimal and most stick enter is linear, forming a “V” form with no stick enter within the middle. At 50% stick enter, your quad will rotate across the given axis at precisely half the utmost rotational velocity.
Rising Expo reduces sensitivity round mid-stick, requiring additional stick motion to attain the identical rotational velocity. Visualize Expo as reworking the “V” form right into a “U”, with a better expo proportion flattening the “U” across the center.
Tremendous Price
Tremendous Price (or just Price) will increase each max angular velocity and sensitivity across the middle stick.
By elevating the Tremendous Price, you’ll be able to preserve reasonable stick sensitivity round mid-stick for traditional flying maneuvers whereas nonetheless reaching snappy rolls and flips on the stick endpoints.
Tremendous Price primarily combines the results of RC Price and Expo, permitting for extra flexibility in reaching the specified stick really feel.
So why use Tremendous Price? We are able to simply use RC Price and Expo proper? Sure, kind of, however having Tremendous Price offers us extra flexibility in reaching the stick really feel we wish.
Tuning Betaflight Charges
Tuning charges finally relies on private choice and “really feel.”
Start with the default Betaflight values: RC Price 1.0, Tremendous Price 0.7, Expo 0 for all three axes.
When tuning my charges, I all the time regulate RC Price first. Carry out flips and rolls, and if the quadcopter spins too slowly, enhance RC Price till glad. Word down the max angular velocity (deg/sec) within the Betaflight Configurator. For my freestyle rig, I normally purpose for round 700-800 levels per second.
Subsequent, merely cruise round (with out flips or rolls) and make sure the quadcopter responds swiftly and predictably to your stick inputs throughout turns. If it’s too delicate for exact motion, enhance Expo. If it’s too gradual to react (not delicate sufficient), lower Tremendous Price whereas growing RC Price to compensate and lift the max angular pace.
Expo isn’t all the time crucial since Tremendous Price can present the identical impact. Nevertheless, in the event you nonetheless discover small actions round mid-stick too delicate, enhance Expo till you strike the correct steadiness between precision and responsiveness.
Professional Tip: Making use of Expo on the radio (TX) reduces your stick decision, so all the time set Expo within the flight controller software program every time doable!
It’s possible you’ll have to iterate by way of the method a number of occasions till the charges really feel good. Do not forget that pitch, roll, and yaw charges don’t should be an identical—freestyle pilots typically desire greater roll and yaw charges however decrease pitch charge, it’s all private choice.
Completely different flight controller software program has totally different ranges and scaling in PID, charges and expo, so the identical numbers don’t essentially give the identical ends in a special firmware. It is best to be capable to discover on-line converters if you wish to migrate to a special FC firmware.
To present you some examples, listed here are the Charges and Expos I used previously:
Freestyle
- RC Price – 1.2
- Tremendous Price – 0.77
- RC Expo – 0.20
Easy Cruiser:
- RC Price = 0.80
- RC Expo = 0.00
- Tremendous Price = 0.65
Expo is ready to zero right here on objective, that is to keep away from overreacting in shut conditions and truly offers you total smoother outcome.
Aggressive Acro Quad:
- RC Price, Pitch/Roll = 1.80, Yaw = 2.00
- Tremendous Price, All = 0.64
- RC Expo, Pitch/Roll = 0.20, Yaw = 0.15
Tiny Whoop Charges
- Roll+Pitch: RC Price 1.2, Tremendous Price 0.75, Expo 0
- YAW: RC Price 1.3, Tremendous Price 0.80 Expo 0
- If utilizing acro mode, allow crash_recovery, there are some settings (get crash_ in CLI) you may need to tune first to keep away from false self-centering.
As your flying ability improves, and also you turn out to be extra snug performing aggressive manoeuvres, you may attempt to crank up your charges. And additionally, you will in all probability need to use a bit extra expo to take care of correct fantastic management.
There isn’t any proper or incorrect Expo and Price values, so long as it fits you. For instance, I’ve shaky fingers, so my expo may be a bit greater than others. :p
Don’t Change Your Charges!
Some pilots regulate their charges for various drones, however this may be counterproductive.
Sustaining constant charges throughout all of your quads is essential for growing muscle reminiscence. Having constant charges means that you can instinctively management the drone’s actions. In the event you’re continually tweaking your charges, your instincts won’t ever totally develop. As a substitute, decide one set of charges and keep on with them—this may assist you to construct constant, instinctive stick management, it doesn’t matter what you’re flying.
That stated, this rule primarily applies to quads of comparable dimension and energy. In the event you’re flying drastically totally different plane—comparable to a 5″ freestyle quad and a tiny whoop—it is sensible to regulate charges accordingly. These drones have very totally different flight traits and are flown in fully totally different environments, so utilizing totally different charges for every is each sensible and crucial.
Throttle Mid and Throttle Expo
Throttle Expo modifies the form of the throttle curve, flattening it across the “Throttle Mid” level. This permits for a gentler throttle response and most stick decision round this throttle stage.
Throttle Mid adjusts the place within the throttle curve the place Throttle Expo is utilized. By default, it’s set to 50% throttle (0.50), however in the event you plan to make use of Throttle Expo, Throttle Mid needs to be set to the throttle of cruising pace. That is the place you will want probably the most throttle decision, and Throttle Expo may make altitude management simpler for you.
Throttle Mid won’t have any impact in the event you set Throttle Expo to 0, as your throttle curve will stay a straight line whatever the Throttle Mid setting.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to arrange a throttle curve in your transmitter for much more exact throttle management.
Last Ideas: The Magic of Precise Charges
Switching to Precise Charges in Betaflight was a game-changer for me. It gave me full management over how my quad responds with out annoying unwanted effects from outdated charge programs. In the event you’re nonetheless on previous Betaflight charges, do your self a favor—swap to Precise Charges and by no means look again. You’ll get smoother, extra predictable, and easier-to-tune management.
Edit Historical past
- 2015 – Article created
- 2018 – Article up to date
- 2021 – Added information about new function in Betaflight: Precise Price
- 2022 – Utilizing Precise Price as the usual, up to date screenshots, up to date Price Tuning directions,
- 2023 – Simplified URL, optimized title
- Feb 2025 – Up to date tutorial
